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Floyd: Fondren's Campbell's Bakery opens Madison eatery

Just off Main Street in Madison is the newly opened location of Campbell’s Bakery.

No need to fret. The original location at 3013 N. State St.in the Fondren Arts & Entertainment District in Jackson is still open, and there are no plans to close it.

Both locations sell iced teacakes — cookies that are cut out and frosted — made using the recipe of Louis Campbell, who established the bakery in 1962.

I recently stopped by the Madison location at 123 Jones St. — just off Main Street and behind Inside Story gift shop — and bought a couple of the teacakes shaped like the state of Mississippi and frosted in a pretty shade of red.

I’m glad Campbell’s Bakery is around because I have visions of turning out picture-perfect iced cookies for friends and family on every holiday that rolls around, but never manage to do so.

The Mississippi-shaped cookies satisfied my sweet tooth while I marveled at their perfection.

Mitchell Moore, owner/pastry chef, said he had plans to open a second location of the bakery for quite some time, but took his time and looked for a location in an area underserved by custom bakeries.

When he found the 1890s house with a front porch and hardwood floors that once housed Hearts of Madison event space, Moore knew it was a good fit for his business.

The space required a small amount of remodeling, he said, details such as the addition of bead board paneling on the walls and an interior paint job. The space is sunny and pleasant and furnished with tables and chairs, making it an inviting space in which to meet a friend.

“It’s a busy place with lots of people coming in and having coffee with their kids, not just picking up something and leaving,” Moore said. “It’s become a mom’s meeting place.”

Breakfast is popular at the Madison location, which is a little bit larger than the Jackson location, he said.

The breakfast menu is what you’d expect to find at a bakery: cinnamon rolls, cream cheese danish, chocolate croissants, scratch biscuits with local smoked sausage and cheddar cheese, scratch biscuits with sage cream cheese and turkey sausage, and croissants with bacon and sharp cheddar cheese.

The bakery cases feature petit fours — perfect for baby showers and other events — as well as cookies ranging from Snickerdoodle to Kitchen Sink (so named because it includes pretzels, potato chips and just about everything but the kitchen sink), cupcakes from strawberry to Italian cream and bar cookies from caramel blondies to lemon chess squares.

Birthday cakes, wedding cakes and cakes for about any occasion are also items Campbell’s is known for. Because everything is made from scratch, the bakery can customize any order to fit a customer’s likes.

The coming of March and St. Patrick’s Day will bring shamrock-shaped teacakes iced in green to Campbell’s. Easter will bring egg shapes and bunny shapes.

A word of advice: Place your order for iced teacakes for Easter early. Moore expects to be booked up for those by March 21, which is the Monday before Easter. (You can always buy some from the case, provided you don’t need dozens and dozens.)

Moore said he aims to please his customers, citing one evening when he was locking up and noticed a truck pull in the parking lot. “We opened up for the driver of the truck and his son,” he said.

Moore grew up in Byram, where he learned to cook at home. His mother often prepared supper and excelled at baking. He worked as a line chef at Nick’s restaurant in Jackson and became a pastry chef. He lived in the Big Apple and Los Angeles for several years before returning to Jackson.

With the second location, Moore added five employees, bringing the total employment for the bakery to 15.

Both locations of the bakery are open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.